When Tristan Easton arrived at Meade in the fall of 2012, he turned out to be one of the final pieces coach Pete Corriero needed to return the Mustangs to basketball prominence.

The Mustangs had lost their competitive luster after a run of five region titles between 1983 and 2000 under coach Butch Young.

All that changed with Correrio leading the way and Easton sparkling on the court the past four seasons.

For Easton, the Capital Gazette Communications Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, it has always been about the wins. And many of them. Elevated to varsity early in his freshman season, he took part in 80 of the team's 83 wins the last four seasons, while dropping just 18 contests. That included a 23-4 run to the state final as a senior. He learned from grizzled veterans as a youngster, developed and grew on the floor, led his team to a state title as a junior and finished with another trip to the Xfinity Center.

"Tristan is never worried about points; he is always worried about the wins," Corriero said. "For him, it has always been about his teammates."

After last season's championship run, knowing that the team was losing eight seniors, Easton remarked that it would be a challenge to compete for another title.

The 2016 Capital Gazette All-County Boys Basketball Team.

"We knew nobody was going to give us anything based on what we had already done, and there were a lot of guys that had to step up their games if we wanted to still be playing on March 12," Easton said.

That required Easton to become more of a vocal leader, and although the sturdily built, 6-foot-3 guard is still not the most loquacious competitor on the hardwood, his words carried weight.

"He is the face of Meade basketball; everyone accepts and learns from him," said Kodie Jackson, one of Easton's six senior teammates. "The stats don't begin to explain the love he has for basketball and people. He is just a great person on and off the court."

Easton led the team in scoring at nearly 18 points a game, doing most of his damage in roughly two and a half quarters, a product of Corriero's deep bench rotation and the lack of a need to come in late in noncompetitive contests.

He surpassed Corey Wallace (1989) to become the school's all-time leading scorer, finishing with 1,604 points. He accomplished the feat early in a 68-41 win over Broadneck in January. A brief stop in play to honor the achievement showed Easton's focus. During a brief stop in play to take a team photo, it was obvious to everyone he simply wanted the game to start back up.

"I know what it means and I appreciate it, but I am always thinking about the next play, or what we need to do to win," Easton said.

Easton does enjoy the fruits of his labors. He was right there in the middle of last year's title celebration, and he is normally one of the first off the bench to support and cheer on a teammate.

But, Easton is always about the next possession, the next sequence, the next win.

"The past couple of seasons, whenever we got into tough situations, I never panicked," Corriero said. "I knew I had Tristan on my side."

A veteran but somewhat raw roster grew up around Easton. The improvement of Keith Duffin and Jerrel Elder inside, the everlasting energy of Josh Qualls, the emergence of Syvon Sturdivant at the point and the consistency off the bench of Jackson were all keys, and Easton was again in the center of a Mustangs run.

"Tristan trusted in us even more this season and he knew that we could all play, and we all stepped up," Qualls said. "Going back-to-back and making a name at Meade was the most important thing for all of us."

Easton looked to an early-season loss to Archbishop Spalding as the igniter in the team's championship run. He felt the same way regarding a last-second loss to Old Mill, Meade's only regular-season county loss the past two years, in mid-January.

"That was a wake-up call; we knew we needed to produce fast," Easton said. "Everyone came in hungry the next day and it just built from there."

The Mustangs went on a roll, closing the regular season with 10 wins and then emerging unscathed after three tight playoff classics against Arundel, Glen Burnie and Annapolis. Easton averaged 22 points in those three wins as Meade became the first county team to win back-to-back region titles since Old Mill in 2005-2006.

"Back-to-back is what we had on our minds all season," Jackson said. "You had to fight through the regular season and Tristan's determination was a big reason we were able to do it"

Despite coming up short in the final, Easton has no regrets. He said he thinks he could have done more, but is satisfied with what he has given to the program.

"People take more pride in Meade basketball, and I know I helped change the program," Easton said. "I only wish I had one more season to be out there."

Easton has interest from several colleges, including Bowie State and American International, where he could re-team with Spruell. However, there is also finally some time to appreciate the season and the career of what will be known as one of Anne Arundel County's all-time greats.

"I can go another 20 to 30 years coaching and not have another guy like him," Corriero said. "He was so good and he did it the right way. He perfectly represents what I wanted here: a winning program with talented players doing things the right way. He always understood the bigger picture, and the result was him being the unquestioned leader of a championship team."